Marjorie Hagy (History)
MARJORIE is a bibliophile, a history nut
and an insomniac, among several other
conditions, both diagnosed and otherwise.
When she's not working tirelessly to avoid
getting a real job, she nurses an obsession
with her grandson and is involved in passing
legislation restricting the wearing of socks
with sandals. She is an aspiring pet hoarder
who enjoys vicious games of Scrabble,
reading Agatha Christie, and sitting around
doing nothing while claiming to be thinking
deeply. Marjorie has five grown children, a
poodle to whom she is inordinately devoted
in spite of his breath, and holds an Explore
record for never having submitted an article
on time. She's been writing for us for five
years now.

Rene Villanueva (Music)

Rene Villanueva is the lead singer/bass
player for the band Hacienda. Having
toured worldwide, hacienda has also
been featured on several late night
shows, including Late Show with David
Letterman. Rene and his wife Rachel live
in Boerne, TX and just welcomed thier
first child.

I’m just a normal guy. I’m not a
theology student, I don’t preach in
church, and I’ve never written a book.
I’m just a normal guy that thinks, and
feels, and is on a never-ending journey
attempting to be the best person I
can be. I fail frequently at this quest,
yet each day, the quest continues. I’ve
lived in Boerne since the late ‘80s,
I’ve got a most beautiful wife, three
wonderful children, and just really,
really love God. Thanks for going on
my spiritual journey with me.

6

Old Timer (Ramblings)

The Old Timer tells us he's been a
resident of Boerne since about 1965. He
enjoys telling people what he doesn't
like. When not bust'n punks he can be
found feeding the ducks just off Main
St. or wandering aimlessly in the newly
expanded HEB. Despite his rough and
sometimes brash persona, Old Timer is
really a wise and thoughtful individual. If
you can sort through the BS.

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

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From the Publisher
Dearest EXPLORE reader,
My son has my old childhood dresser in his room.
It’s a fairly normal, heavy, antique wooden dresser. Somebody told
me once that it’s from the early 1900s, but I’ve never confirmed that.
It’s a nice dresser, with a large mirror, and well, it does a good job of
holding a young boy’s clothes and so I think it’s a keeper.
On top of it is a large ring in the wood. I put that ring there when I
was a kid. My mom religiously fussed about using coasters around our
wood furniture, and I most certainly ignored her, as I did about most
things. Sure enough, I took a large glass of ice water, set it on the fine
wood top, and then left for a weekend of fun. By Sunday, I had left a
beautifully large circle in the top that has remained there to this day.
Last fall my kids were irritating me. Yes, I love my kids, but I’ll be
damned if one afternoon there wasn’t just a constant onslaught of
screaming, whining, and crying. I was in my bedroom that has wooden
shutters on the windows, and while adjusting the slats to allow more
light in, I got frustrated and yelled “Will you guys PLEASE stop all the
screaming?!” As I yelled, I slammed the slats shut, and broke one. It
now hangs crooked amongst a nice clean column of unbroken slats. I
smirk when I see it because it reminds of one stupid moment of frustration. I’m sure I could fix it, but I’m also sure it would be a serious pain
in the butt. There it sits, broken.
As I sit here and look around my house, I can see a variety of things
left with “marks”. There’s the massive scratch down the dining room
table. There’s a big chip of paint on a hallway corner. There’s even a
picture frame with one corner that is coming loose. The thing that I
find interesting about all of these things is that I can tell you the story
behind every one of these blemishes. Some of the stories are funny
(the time I tripped over a toy in the hallway and managed to break a
lampshade) and some of the stories are not so funny (a scratch in a
window screen that my dog made. That dog died in August). Some
are sweet, like a stain in the carpet where the kids and I were wrestling
and spilled a Coke, and some are darker, such as a mark on the door
frame during a door-slamming session. But regardless of the story, sure
enough, they are all stories and memories and recollections and moments in time.
They are memories formed from a mark.
Some good. Some bad. Some noticeable. Some little more than the
tiniest scratch.
I’m not sure why, but that just seems proper for some reason. It
seems that it would be hard to truly live if we did not leave a mark on
things around us. It’s some sort of timeless testament that will now live

8

on forever to commemorate our existence. In 100 years, some future
descendant of mine will get that old dresser, see the huge ring in the
top and wonder about me. A future craftsman will own my home and
think “What kind of a doofus breaks a wood slat in the shutters and
doesn’t fix it?”
I look around my town and my family and see other places that we
all leave marks. I see them on me and you and each person I see as I
walk through HEB. Some are good, and some are bad, but we have
all been marked by others. I think that one of the questions we should
perhaps all be asking ourselves is a quite obvious one: What kind of
mark do you want to leave on people?
You’ve got the opportunity to impact every single person that you
come into contact with. Every single person you meet is an opportunity to leave them “changed”. The mark you leave could be kindness
or compassion or strength or wisdom. That person could witness your
profound strength and be changed forever. Or you could help someone during a dark time in their life and fundamentally alter the direction of their existence.
You’ve marked them. And they are now seeking someone that they
may mark as well.
Welcome to April. Historically one of the more beautiful months in
the Hill Country, I hope that you are able to get out there and breathe
deep. May you have a moment to look around you at those whom
have “marked you”, and EXPLORE to find those that you may return
the favor.
Smiling,

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On this self-guided tour, enjoy the season’s wildflowers along with visits to 36 wineries in the
region offering special events, tastings, tours, food
and entertainment. www.texaswinetrail.com 512914-5561

The Shabby Bus is providing a shuttle ride out to
Toucan Jim’s in Centerpoint, TX for their Annual
Pirate Fest. The Parrot Heads will be performing
Jimmy Buffet Tunes, tropical drinks will be served,
and a beachy time will be had by all. Let The
Shabby Bus be your roundtrip designated driver
for only $10 per person. Pick-up spots at park-nide in Boerne. Call Summer @ 210-887-2466 to
reserve your seats. More bus info @ www.shabbybus.com

April 5
FREDERICKSBURG
Texas Gran Fondo

Cycling enthusiasts are invited to discover the
Texas Hill Country on unparalleled road courses of
35, 56 or 95 miles through Gillespie County. www.
texasgranfondo.com

April 5, 12, 19, 26
BANDERA
Cowboys on Main

Features a Western display in front of the Bandera
County Courthouse and strolling entertainers on
Main Street. Bandera Cattle Company performs
historical gunfights at noon and 2 p.m. Hours are
1–4 p.m. Main Street. www.banderatexasbusiness.
com 800-364-3833

April 10-13
DRIFTWOOD
Old Settler’s Music Festival

This event features Americana, acoustic jazz and
blues, bluegrass, old-time local faves and other artists from around the world. Musical lineup includes
Shovels and Rope, North Mississippi Allstars,
Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Donna
the Buffalo and others. Also enjoy arts and crafts,
camping, food and libations. Salt Lick Pavilion and
Camp Ben McCulloch, 17900 F.M. 1826, south of
Austin. www.oldsettlersmusicfest.org

April 11
Boerne
Public Craft Beer Tour

The Shabby bus will depart from Boerne and head
out to favorite hill country breweries and beer

10

gardens. We’ll sample craft beers, stop for lunch,
and take in a scenic hill country view in the comfort
and safety of the bus. This 6 hour tour is $45 per
person. Call Summer @ 210-887-2466 for more
information and to reserve your spot on the bus.
More bus info @ www.shabbybus.com

Benefit concert for the Cibolo Nature Center’s
Songs and Stories Concert Series features Texas
singers and songwriters. The event is named in
memory of Brandon Gallagher-Manning, who died
in a 2001 car crash at age 21. Cibolo Nature Center, 140 City Park Road. www.cibolo.org 830-2494616

April 12
BOERNE
Second Saturday Art and Wine

Enjoy a glass of wine and stroll through the art
galleries. Hours are 4–8 p.m. Various venues. www.
secondsaturdayartandwine.com 877-0833-0621 or
830-249-1500

Three wines from the best wineries in the state
and surrounding regions are featured, along with
live music, food samples, giveaways and more.
This a great opportunity to hear from winemakers
about how they craft their wines, enjoy the natural
surroundings and explore the other offerings of
Gruene Historic District. Grapevine Texas Wine Bar,
1612 Hunter Road. www.grapevineingruene.com
830-606-0093

April 18-19
MARBLE FALLS
Paint the Town

A plein air painting contest takes over the downtown area with working artists, receptions, auctions, shopping and more. www.paintthetownmftx.
org 830-693-2815

April 18-20
FREDERICKSBURG
Trade Days

Shop with more than 350 vendors in six barns, plus
acres of antiques and collectibles, or kick back and
enjoy the biergarten and live music. Seven miles
east of town off U.S. 290, at 355 Sunday Farms
Lane. www.fbgtradedays.com 830/990-4900 or
210-846-4094

Did you know that our Texas Hill Country is the #2
wine destination in the country? Book your seat
on The Shabby Bus, and discover why. We’ll visit
4 wineries and stop for a fabulous lunch on this 6
hour tour. Call Summer @ 210-887-2466 for more
information and to reserve your spot on the bus.
More bus info @ www.shabbybus.com

April 25-26
FREDERICKSBURG
Hill Country Wine and Music Festival
Enjoy the best of the wines and culinary arts of
Texas in a beautiful Hill Country setting with live
Texas music. Wildseed Farms, 100 Legacy Drive,
7 miles east of town on U.S. 290. www.hillcountrywineandmusic.com 830-998-2144

Corvettes from 1953 to the present and other fabulous sports cars are on display. Main Plaza. www.
texas-corvette-association.org

April 26
BURNET
Bluebonnet Air Show

This event features vintage military aircraft demonstrations and thrilling aerobatics by some of the
nation’s best stunt pilots. Burnet Municipal Kate
Craddock Field, 2302 S. Water St. www.bluebonnetairshow.com 512-756-2226

Living history demonstration covers World War II
weaponry, clothing, training and tactics of U.S. and
Japanese military. Programs begin at 10:30 a.m., 1
p.m. and 3:30 p.m. National Museum of the Pacific
War Combat Zone, 500 E. Austin St. www.pacificwarmuseum.org 830-997-8600 ext. 205

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MUSIC

By Rene Villanueva

My love of listening, my becoming an appreciater of sound
composition, started in San Antonio but flourished in Boerne. For
that I am grateful to this city, my home. This story is the beginning
of that affair.

I don’t think it would come as a surprise for me to say, Boerne is not
in a cutting-edge city like New York or L.A. I’m not taking about the
people in the city but the lifestyle of the city itself. Boerne’s pride
is history, tradition, and nostalgia. A time machine look at the best
parts of our past.

You might think it is not the place for someone who wants to be
forward-thinking artist. Who wants to be a rejectionist. Who wants to
jump off cliffs of creativity without a care to where to land. And while
I was younger, in high school, eager to begin my life, I thought like
that. But like a lot of adolescent beliefs I was wrong.

It was on one of these adolescent days, with nothing to do but walk and
dream of far distant Americas, that I entered into an antique store.

I’d been coming to main street for years with my parents, both
avid antique lovers, probably one reason why we moved here, but I
never payed attention to what was inside.

14

Usually I waited, moaned, rolled eyes and was difficult. That day
I was on my own, shopping for me, and uniquely interested in
finding something. Music.

But not the music available at Best Buy or Target. Also it›s worth
a note to say, I was too young to shop online, no credit card, and
too young to drive to Austin or any trendier record shops.

I was looking for music I hadn’t heard before. Tired of the radio,
feeling rebellious, I was lured by the charm of rock’n’roll and to
finding it the cheapest way I could.

To my great teenage delight, I found a crate of vinyl hidden under
a table, containing a strange array of music I’d never heard or
seen before.

These were not perfect by any means, nor collector pieces. They
were dirty: covers torn, stained, and ripped, records scratched
and dusty. Some in the completely wrong sleeves. Lots of
oddballs, ping-pong percussion anyone?

“What do you want for these?” I asked not trying to sound
too interested.

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

The old man at the counter scrunched his nose so much it
lifted the glasses an inch as he examined the crate I was pointing
at with my sneaker.

undeniably better. I couldn’t go back. There was a universe of
warm, inviting comfort in vinyl.

“What do you want them for?” He laughed to himself, a joke I still
hear shopping today: “Do you even know what those are?”

I didn’t care much for the artwork, not that the artwork wasn’t
beautiful, I was just interested more in the songs within, and soon
found out that a quality record inside a torn or distressed sleeve
would go for considerably cheaper than any new music.

He went on to explain how they were his son›s records; mostly
from the early seventies, he›d left them at home when he went
to college, never picked them up, and they›d sat under this
very table for a year or two. He took $10, all I had in my wallet
- goodbye lunch tomorrow, for the whole crate.

Back to the story. Finally I had the records cleaned and began
listening one by one. Unknowingly I’d planted the seeds of my
future, and the heart of that journey came from Boerne.

It took me a while to figure out how to put my father’s
system together. We had used it when I was
younger, but since we moved a few years
earlier, the turntable, stereo, and
speakers were boxed and stored
in different places. Cables and
plugs had to be hunted.

Boerne, gave me the music education I couldn’t get in San
Antonio. It was affordable though the selection
was erratic, sometimes strange, but always
unique. There’s so much great music
waiting to be found, and it was all
down the street.

Boerne also gave me it’s
second greatest gift.
Time. No movie theater
yet. Our house had
no cable. Internet
was still slow. And
unfortunately there
was no orchestra
at Boerne High
School. Violin being
my passion. So I
took up the two
things that set me
on my path. Reading,
and listening. Each
one equally crucial to
my work.

Next came a thorough
cleaning of every
disk, as well as a
total examination of
every record cover
and sleeve.

I was most attracted
to The Who and The
Beach Boys, a few
country records, and
a best of Dion and the
Belmonts which proved
to be phenomenal.

I’d like to pause from this
story to mention: this boy and
his new found treasure trove,
worked hard to get these vinyl
sounding great.

I’m not one to romanticize the pops and cracks or the eerie
warble of warped wax. Those actually bug me. But there’s an
atmosphere and quality in vinyl that’s only now being matched.
A livelyness, a magic is bred into the medium, and why it is my
favorite format for listening.

Early downloads, mp3, CD’s, tape cassettes, even the first ipods,
paled in comparison. And once I heard the difference, it was

There’s something special
about the small town life
untainted by trends and fads.
It allows ideas room for growth. It
allows artists time to develop. No matter
how out there they are. The gift of being an
outsider to America, but also be inside in a way that
is fading. To live the small town life, when that has all but
vanished from our landscape.

I’ve traveled. I’ve seen shopping center after shopping center with
the same stores and restaurants. They offer the same experience.
But small towns, and their oddball beauty can only be felt once in
a specific time and a specific place. It’s precious. I love it.

A son of South-Texas, and two of the most beautiful souls I’ll ever know. Writer, dreamer, singer of songs, bass player, and professional observer.
Toured the world with my band of “real-blood-tied” brothers, and friends as Hacienda/Fast-five. Recorded three albums, written countless songs,
played countless shows, including two national tv late-night extravaganzas, festivals, throwdowns, parties, and hoot-nights. Lover of books, vinyl,
dancing, people who laugh loud, walking, vintage craftsmanship, and my home in Boerne.

April 2014

www.hillcountryexplore.com

15

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Last month we introduced you to Ben Schooley and Ben Weber. The willing guinea pigs for the second EXPLORE fitness
challenge. We are documenting their three month long attempt to eat healthier, exercise, and live a healthier all around
lifestyle. We asked them to keep a journal to document their journey so that our readers can laugh, ridicule, and sympathize
with them on their journey. Here is a sampling from their first month on their programs. Be sure to check back next month as
they continue to recount their torture progress.

March 1 - 6:11am

Well, here we go. Do you think I can work out while simultaneously drinking
coffee?

March 7 - 5:55am

March 3 - 6:30am

I’m sore. HOLY $&#!@ I’m sore. Now I remember what getting back into an
exercise routine feels like. Maybe I can just get my stomach stapled. No one
will know. Right?

This is hard. Really hard. It’s not the workouts, it’s building this into your
lifestyle. It requires so much planning for me to pull this off. I have to ensure
I get to bed at the right time the night before, I have to get up a good 30
minutes before my workout so I can have some coffee and watch the news,
then I work-out, shower, get dressed……….It’s a LOT. All that said, I’m one
week down and am honestly looking forward to next week.

March 5 - 1:40pm

March 11 - 8:27am

March 10 - 7:30am

March 18 - 5:27am

March 17 - 9:05pm

No workout this week. Caught The Funk. Sucks. Voice is hoarse, low fever,
muscle cramps. Back next week.
Kids climbing into my bed in the middle of the night. They kick me in the gut
while they sleep. This is going to make for a looooong day.

March 22 - 6:02am

Really tough this morning. Not the workout, the motivation. As I jumped
around doing plyo like a monkey tripping on speed, my fat ass dog watched
me with a pitying look on his face the entire time. I envy him... sometimes.

March 28 7:11am

Just finished Plyometrics. This is, hands down, the stupidest video in the p90x
program. It’s supposed to be cardio, which is fun, but this is just silly. Take my
advice: skip this stupid workout and go for a nice jog.

March 31 - 6:47am

Month 1 is in the books. The soreness went away by week 2, and fitting this
into my life has gotten easier and easier. It’s true that it takes 14 days to form a
habit…I’ve got a long way to go, but am beginning to really enjoy this.

18

Since starting five days ago, I can already tell a difference. I don’t look like
Fight Club Brad Pitt… yet, but I’m sleeping better. In the last six months this
has really been an issue. Trouble falling asleep. Trouble staying asleep. But
since March 1 I can’t remember waking up before 6:00 a.m. Or laying in bed
wondering if I’ll ever be able to fall asleep.

Weighed myself for the first time since starting. Hmmm, shouldn’t that number
be lower? Guess the scale needs new batteries.

It’s hard staying motivated to do this every day or night. After the kids are in
bed I just want to veg. I don’t want to go to the exercise room only to have
the one working treadmill occupied by someone who decides it’s a good idea
to start talking to me as I struggle for breath on the stationary bike that I really
don’t want to be on in the first place.

March 19, 11:30pm March 20, 4:30am

I don’t think food poisoning is a clinically recommended diet plan. But hey... it
works!

March 21 - 6:17am

Still fighting the “funk” I picked up somehow from Schooley. Thanks man.
Much appreciated. No workouts for me today.

March 28 - 9:15pm

Wow. I didn’t know I could run 10mph. This is pretty cool. Don’t fall don’t fall
don’t fall don’t fall...

along the Hill Country Mile in the Arts & Design and Historic districts of

and refreshments from 4 to 8pm with a free trolley connecting the

downtown Boerne and nearby communities.

various venues. It’s a great time to visit galleries, meet the artists, and

Thirty-one local artists will be featured at nine separate venues in this

enjoy a relaxed, congenial artistic environment.

year’s ‘Parade’ with a diversity of media ranging from paintings in oils,
watercolor, pastels and acrylics, to bronze and relief sculpture, jewelry,

•

In the fall of each year BPA hosts the “Texas Hill Country Invitational

photography, pottery, fused glass, mixed media and more. In addition

Art Show & Sale“. The 2014 event is scheduled for October 17 - 19,

to the four established Boerne art galleries where more than a hundred

and will again be held at the beautiful Cana Ballroom of St. Peter the

artists of national and international reputation will be represented, several

Apostle Catholic Church in Boerne. The Invitational is a premier art

downtown businesses have offered space for artists’ displays, while others

show and sale, featuring artists from across the state and includes a

are showing their works in their own art studios.

full slate of art-related events.

Free of charge, as always, the ‘Parade’ opens on Saturday, April 12th
from 10am until 8pm with wine and hors d’oeuvres provided at many of
the venues that evening. A free shuttle trolley connecting the ‘Parade’
venues will also be available Saturday evening. On Sunday,
April 13th, the venues will be open from 11am
until 5pm. Several artists will be
demonstrating their individual

Boerne Professional Artists is an organization of professional artists, art
patrons and art galleries in the Texas Hill Country and coastal regions
whose mission is to enhance business opportunities for visual artists
in all media. Its supporting partners in the visual arts include the City
of Boerne, the Hill Country Council for the Arts, the Greater Boerne
Chamber of Commerce and the Boerne Convention and Visitors Bureau.

techniques at various times
throughout the event.
BPA’s art events are widely
advertised and attended which
makes Boerne well known for

22

www.BoerneProferssionalArtists.com

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

Please join us for

our farewell concert for
Founding Artistic Director,
Scott MacPherson

Saturday, May 10th
7:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
205 James St
Boerne, Texas

Tickets available online at sachamberchoir.org
or at the door.
$20 General | $15 Senior/Military | $5 Students

April 2014

www.hillcountryexplore.com

23

HISTORY

FOLLOW ME
THROUGH

OLD BOERNE
An Illustrated History

Nearby on Kronkosky Hill is another man In March of 1923, Warren Harding was in the
sion,
built
only two or three years before, and this
White House, Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini
By Marjorie Hagy
one nicknamed ‘the Castle’ for it’s turreted towers and
were beginning to make noise in Europe like the distant
tall windows. This is the fine house built by HJ Graham,
rumble of thunder on a summer night, and Lenin was in
the months-old Soviet Union. Time magazine rolled out its
first issue, a Russian immigrant patented the first television transmission tube, the
HJ Graham house
Cotton Club was preparing to open in Harlem and people all over the country would
soon be singing ‘Yes, We Have No Bananas’. In Boerne on the sixth of that month, an
enormous gathering of townspeople and country folk were at Military Plaza, not to mark
the eighty-seventh anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, but to attend the dedication of
the new monument to the Kendall County men who’d given their lives in the Great War
that had ended five years before. At that time the entire population of Kendall County
was less than five thousand souls, less than two thousand people living in Boerne, but
nearly nine hundred of them came to the park that windy day in Boerne, and there
a man set up a camera and took a long-exposure photograph of the gathering. The
picture shows all those people on that one day in history: men in suits and in overalls,
women in their finery for the meeting of their friends and neighbors on this big occasion, kids most likely having been warned to behave, looking up at the camera. There
are a couple of formations of soldiers, automobiles interspersed with horse-drawn
buggies and wagons parked all around the square, farms with their barns and cisterns
and windmills in the background and their fields stretching off into the distance. In
those pre-television days folks in a little country town like Boerne and the county folks,
more isolated still, occasions like voting day and the dedication of a monument were
far more important than they are these days- they were respites from labor and loneliness, and the people put on their best and made a festival day of it. The photograph
captured that moment, that holiday, and froze it in time so that we can look back, from
ninety-one years in the future, to our town on that Spring day so long ago. These old
another of Boerne’s richest people, in fact the man who donated the brand-new war
pictures always fascinate me, they are the closest things to time machines that anybody
memorial down at the Plaza. Graham and his wife Augusta Phillip Graham had lived in
has ever devised, and this picture is no different. It’s a portal into the past, and today
the Castle for a while but in 1923 had moved to another mansion on Main Street, very
I invite you to step with me into that past, and take a look around at Boerne of that
close to Military Plaza, a place that would in later years become a series of restaurants
distant March day.
including El Chapparal and that is nowadays alleged to be haunted. HJ’s only child,
So step through the frame and into Veteran’s Park- Military Plaza in 1923- and imagJoe, had been an up-and-comer in San Antonio, 1st Assistant District Attorney and a
ine your feet now standing on the grass there, and the smells that drifted in the wind
rising star in that city’s social scene with his heiress wife, Bess Orynski Graham, but now
that day, the sweet, early Spring smell of mountain laurel, that scent that lets you know,
he and Bess were divorced and Joe was estranged from his two children, Wanda and
more than any other, that a fresh new season has come to the Hill Country. The whole
Henry. Joe was out of work and had just married his second wife Mary Etta Bunn, and
town was still surrounded by farms, cattle and goats and the ever-present Kendall
he and Mary and Mary’s son Jimmie were living together in the Castle. There was no
County sheep grazing at fences all along Main Street, chickens scratching in the road,
way of knowing, in 1923, that Joe Graham would be shot dead in just a few years, killed
so there are those scents as well, and the smell of food as this was a festival day at the
in self-defense during a drunken attack in the Castle, and that the Castle itself would
plaza. There would be the sounds of the local big shots speechifying on that dedicasit abandoned for years along with all its furnishings and priceless family treasures, that
tion day, every local politician and surely Boerne mayor LJ Gregory taking the stump
a generation later the children of Boerne would wander through its rooms, exploring
to orate with high-flung patriotism, and there would be the sounds of children, and all
the forlorn old place. And that another generation later the old Castle would be gone
those farm animals providing a familiar background song. This is Military Plaza that day
altogether and those children, grown up, would have a hard time remembering exactly
so long ago. And now walk through the town with me.
where it had been. The only reminders in 2014 that the old Castle even existed are the
Just across the street is St Peter’s Catholic church, the brand-new building with the
street names around HEB, Bess and Wanda. When you stand in 1923 you cannot know
twin spires just completed in 1923. It looks breathtaking on the crest of the hill, espewhat will happen the next year, or the year after that, but when you’ve travelled back
cially next to the old church, that little stone chapel so beloved by her parish. Built in
over ninety years you know how the story will end, and looking at the Castle this Spring
1867 by Father Fleury along with the men of the church, George Kendall included- the
day by way of our time machine you can’t help but reflect on the sadness and the waste
limestone, in fact, quarried at Kendall’s ranch and the lime kilned up on Kronkosky Hillof it all. Let’s walk away from here.
the original church building will give up it’s altar and pews and other religious furnishings to the new sanctuary, but it won’t be torn down. I fact, it still stands today as a
testament to the vision of those pioneers who carved their place from this wilderness in
the hills.
Speaking of Kronkosky HIll, the place in is it’s heyday in 1923 and the Kronkoskys in
the midst of their popularity as some of the wealthiest and certainly the most generous
folks in town. The Hill is the liveliest spot in Boerne, the Kronkoskys having turned it
into a showplace with its pathways and Lover’s Lane, the flowers and landscaping, fairy
lights strung among the trees, kids daring each other over the famous rope bridge still
spanning the canyon. The Kronkoskys throw dances for the town’s young people, invitMain St. bridge over Cibolo Creek
ing the soldiers out from Camps Bullis and Stanley, bringing out whole orchestras to
play, and the beer never failing to flow, right through Prohibition which, of course, was
the law of the land in 1923.

24

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

Military Plaza, March, 1923 - Now Veteran’s Park

Back on Main Street heading downhill towards the Cibolo, you might
notice that the surface of the street is hard-topped nowadays. This is a huge
improvement, made in 1920, as the dust kicked up in dry times was enough
to choke a goat, while the rain would turn Main into an impassable sludge.
There are still deep ditches cut alongside the road for the water to run off
into the creek, deep enough that a kid could stand in the bottom and not
be seen from the other side of the street. And here’s another improvementthe brand-new bridge, just completed, over the Cibolo Creek! The road’s
been raised a good four feet from the normal level of the water, much
higher than the old bridge that skimmed the water. Keep in mind, too, as
you look around in this Boerne of the past, that the creek looks different not
only because it has more water than it ever will in 2014, but that the same
WPA project that constructed the swimming pool behind Main Plaza also
built up the steep banks along the Cibolo Creek for better flood control, but
that won’t happen for another ten years in 1923. Downstream from the new
bridge is of course the dam, and it along with the spillway below it- known
as the Boerne Lake ninety years ago- is the popular outing place, a picnic
spot for courting couples and barbeques after church. Nearby is a campground first erected when the railroad came to town in 1887 and opened
the way for tourists to come to the country for a weekend excursion. These
days of course the advent of the automobile has made it easier for folks to
escape San Antonio for the hills, and every weekend there’s a crowd here at
the dam and lake.
People are car crazy in 1923, in fact. There are still plenty of horse-drawn
vehicles on the road and will be for years to come, especially in this country town, but
nowadays anyone who can afford a car wants to run out and buy one. Sach’s Garage on
the northwest side of the creek at Main Street (its sign painted on the bricks still visible
in 2014 touting it as the oldest garage in town), doesn’t exist yet in 1923 and won’t be
built for another four years, but there are plenty of service stations to cater to the automobile crowd. There’s the OST station at Main and West Theissen - that building is still
Albert Kutzer garage

there almost a century later- and OST in this case does not stand for the Old Spanish
Trail, as it does in Bandera and other parts of the Hill Country, but in Boerne means the
Old Stage Trail. This was the old stage route from Boerne’s earliest days- roughly along
Main Street (Hwy 87) and veering off what’s now West Theissen over the place where
the Frederick Creek meets the Cibolo and then along today’s School Street. Then there’s
the Albert Kutzer garage on the corner of Main and James, built on the site of the
burned-down Vanderstratton Saloon and which would in later years become the home
of Circle H Signs and part of Olde Towne, and there’s also the Sill station on Main Street
and East San Antonio, which tends to both auto drivers and horse loyalists with a livery
stable attached to the garage. That building is still there too, now a restaurant- in fact,
most of the little buildings you see today that sit catty-corner to Main Street started life
as service stations.

April 2014

Main St.

Once we cross the bridge over the creek we can see all of Main Street laid out before
us. There’s HO Adler’s department store on the left, the Adler family lives in surprisingly
spacious quarters upstairs and the building is one of the few places in town with a cellar.
This arrangement of family living space above, beside or behind the family business
is the norm in town- the Diengers do it over at Dienger’s store, the Vollbrechts- most
storekeepers in town in fact. Adler’s Store sells everything from overalls to ladies shoes
to neckties to fresh milk and eggs, which they buy every morning from the farmers who
truck their fresh produce into town. They call it the ‘store of a million articles’.
In 1923 the Adlers have an eleven year-old son, Belmont, who helps in the
store when he’s not in school or Boy Scouts, a tall, good-natured boy whom
everybody knows and likes. This boy would, three years from 1923, be killed
in an accident in the store, and his story was what first got me interested in
saving the stories of our town. He was fifteen when he died, and the Boerne
Star reported that his funeral was attended by everyone in town, and the
cemetery was literally covered in flowers. My sister and I heard about him
from Christina and Shanna at Bergmann’s Lumber that now (in 2014) occupies the old HO Adler store building, and together my sister and I tracked
Belmont down to his resting place in the Boerne Cemetery between his parents, and it made me so sad to think that this boy of fifteen, this well-loved,
good boy who clomped down the steps from his home above the store
every morning to go to school, who died while working for his father, should
not be remembered anymore, that his name should be forgotten. It became
very important to me to let people know about this boy and his short life,
and I wrote my first article for the Explore about it, just a few paragraphs
before this magazine was printed in its present glossy format, and I think of
Belmont and his life and death often. History, as I wrote last month, is up to
us to tell. What we do not share and pass on dies with us, but if we tell the
stories, pass them on, they become living things, take on substance, and
Belmont, the tall boy with big hands, the kid who taught Sunday School at
St Helena’s and was a Boy Scout and whom everybody liked, Belmont will be
remembered.
Further down from HO Adler’s, on the same side of the street is Vollbrecht’s tin shop. This still-familiar building was built in the 1850s by a guy
named Henry Wendler who used it for his cabinet shop and family home, and his brother-in-law Louis Vollbrecht bought it from him in the 1880s and turned it into his tin shop.
Louis built tin roofs and tanks and tin and enamelware kitchen stuff, and his own family
lived in back of the shop until they added the house at the back of the yard- that’s still
there too. The Vollbrecht shop even had a well with a pump in one of the back roomsan early system of indoor water long before anybody else had that luxury. In 1923 Louis
Vollbrecht would have still been hard at work in the tin shop even at the age of seventyhe would keep working there until his death twenty years later. Louis’ son and his family
live just down Main Street towards the Cibolo, next to the OST station in what we now
call the Shumard building, and his eight year-old granddaughter Dorothy and great
nephew Clifford Wendler, young entrepreneurs themselves, ran a front-yard snack stand
selling sodas, gum and candy to folks passing by. There’s a lot of foot traffic along Main

www.hillcountryexplore.com

25

that way until the 90s when Boerne was ‘discovered’ and most locally-owned
places were run right out of business, when it naturally became an antique
store. And we call that progress. Huh.
Walking up Main Street to Main Plaza we pass people on foot, housewives doing the marketing and kids on errands for their mothers, older boys
on the clock and little kids just fooling around. It snowed in Boerne in January
1923, one of those special days when the town closes down and everyone
takes a holiday, when even the buttoned down bankers and businessmen
loosen up a little and go outside to play, and tired old Main Street was transformed into a winter wonderland. We’re almost to the Plaza now, passing the
eye doctor and HL Davis Realty and Insurance company. HL Davis had come
to Boerne from a schoolteacher’s job in Kentucky in 1910, and ran a grocery
business for a year before going on to establish the insurance and real estate
business. He would be elected to mayor of Boerne in 1925, and was the principal of the Boerne school in the 1910 two-story rock building that is now the
city hall, just next to the old school house that still stands on the hill. In 1923
all the kids in town still go to that Blanco Street schoolhouse. The brand-new
high school building on School Street at Johns Road- now Boerne Middle
School North- and the elementary school across the street- now part of Fabra
Elementary- won’t be built until 1929. Black kids in Boerne either attended the
Boerne Colored School, an old wood-frame building now moved to the Flats
and turned into a private home, or they didn’t attend at all. The 1920s were
a terrible time for race relations in Boerne as they were all over the South.
African Americans had been living in Boerne and Kendall County for years, but
in the 20s, with the re-emergence of the KKK and the phenomena known as the Great
Migration in full force, the black population in town all but disappeared.
The old Opera House, site of the first Kendall County Fair, is still standing in 1923,
not yet razed and replaced by the new Ebner’s Drugstore building, and across East San

Fabra Confectionery

Street in 1923- if you lived in town you naturally walked to where you needed to go,
and if you came in from the country you parked your car or your wagon somewhere and
hoofed it. Max Theis as an old, old man remembered courting girls from Phillip House
and the Kendall Inn, the boys escorting them from their hotels and strolling along Main
Street. Henry Fabra, contemporary of Max Theis and the guy for whom the school is
named, also recalled all the girls staying at the hotels, and remembered too delivering sixty t-bone steaks at a time for breakfast to one of the hotels. He took the girls out
in his horse and buggy at first and then, he said, ‘when I got my Ford, I took the girls
out for the afternoon.’ Henry and his father had the Fabra Meat Market, with his uncle
Arthur’s confectionary next door on Main Street, and one of the familiar sounds of 1923
Boerne is Henry driving the meat wagon through the streets each morning calling out
‘Meat! Fresh meat!’ Henry had also been a star of the Boerne White Sox, part of the
HIll Country Baseball League organized right around 1923, although baseball had been
played in Boerne for years in places all over town including along Main Street where
the field in front of the BISD building is today. The White Sox games often drew crowds
up to two thousand people strong- twice as many as were at the dedication at Military
Plaza, and an amazing number for Boerne at that time, and even now!
Past the Fabra bakery and meat market is Eddie John Vogt’s general merchandise
store, opened in 1909 in the building Eddie himself built. According to Eddie’s son
John Eddie, the store ‘carried everything from groceries to clothing and hardware.
At his store you could purchase everything from fresh groceries to dynamite.’ Soon
after the store closed in 1947- having been sold to different owners in 1945- son John
Eddie opened his own store near the first location, and this store is where we used to
shop when I was a kid, fifty years and more after 1923. In this year of the war memorial
dedication, Vogt’s store is doing a brisk business, like HO Adler buying fresh milk, eggs
and produce every morning, Eddie and his clerks lined up behind the long counters of
merchandise ready to serve you.
On the other side of the street we have what would become Olde Towne but is
now Ebensberger lumber yard, with the Ort Saloon, proprietor Rudolph Ort, standing along Main Street just outside. It’s 1923, remember, and Prohibition is the law at
least in theory, but you could still get your beer and booze if you know where to look.
Saloons all over America had to switch over, at least ostensibly, to serving only soda and
lemonade and other non-alcoholic quaffs, but somehow the Ort Saloon, Max Beseler’s
bar and WH Krause’s place, among others, are still able to keep afloat- pun intended.
Rud Ort’s brother, Louie, has his bakery in that little stone building back between the
saloon and Ebensberger’s lumber yard, and that place is still there too, in 2014. A little
further north, that fancy rock and brick building houses Kuehne’s Hardware and the Piggly Wiggly, with family living quarters upstairs. It looks a little different ninety-one years
later with the original decorative spirals and the names and dates removed from the
top of the building, but other than that it’s looked pretty much the same through all it’s
incarnations- from it’s first purpose as William Ziegler’s hardware store, up until the 90s
as the True Value hardware store and today as (what else?) an antiques-cum-gift store. In
1933 Arthur Vogt bought the Ziegler building and turned the upstairs family living space
into apartments, and those were still tenanted until the 90s at least. If those old ‘True
Value apartments’ were still available today, think how much people might pay to stay
up there over Main Street!
Up on the northeast corner of Rosewood and Main Street is Wilke’s Drugstore, owner
William Wilke, first mayor of Boerne in 1909. This building began life as Kuhlmann’s
Apothecary operated by William Kuhlmann who built the big stone house up on the hill
near the school (and is, in 2014, the Kuhlmann-King House museum) but has been in
Wilke’s possession since around 1900, and will, in 1923, be sold to Arthur Fabra. Max
Theis, mentioned above, ran the drugstore for Fabra until it was sold again, and in another twenty years or so it will change hands once more, becoming Roberts Drug Store,
which is how I knew it as a kid. So this place was built in 1887 as a drugstore and stayed

Boerne White Sox

26

Boerne High School Graduates

Antonio Street is the Sill service station, and behind that, on San Antonio Street, is the
telephone exchange building and further down the courthouse and jail. And that brings
us to Main Plaza. It looks much better than it has for so many years when it was used
as a holding pen for cattle waiting to be driven up the Chisholm Trail or for the horses
belonging to guests of the Kendall Inn. In 1923 the Plaza now has a merry-go-round for
kids in addition to the old gazebo- a far cry from today’s onion-domed monstrosity, the
old gazebo was a smaller, German structure where the Village Band would play. On the
West San Antonio Street side of the Plaza are houses still, in 1923, some of which will
still be there even in the 1980s, and on the other side are more houses and, of course,
the Dienger Store on Main Street and Blanco, and the Kendall Inn. Back behind the
Plaza is the Boerne Water Works, attached to the city well, and across the low water
crossing over the creek is the Flats. St Helena’s Episcopal Church is on past the Plaza
where it’s always been, where it still is, but looking very different than it does ninety
years later. The old frame church that was built in 1881 is still in use in 1923- it’ll be torn
down in 1929 to make way for the new rock sanctuary that we know today.
Across the street from St Helena’s is St Mary’s Sanitarium, a sprawling frame structure
with gables and scrollwork and porches running the length of the building upstairs and
down. Founded in 1896 by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word, it originally catered to
Catholic priests suffering from the ubiquitous tuberculosis that was the leading cause
of death in those days, but soon opened up to take in other sufferers as well. Boerne
in 1923 was at the twilight of its Resort Era, but there were still tuberculins in residence
at St Mary’s, as well as in Dr Wright’s sanitarium up on the hill just behind St Mary’s.
Dr Herff had begun sending his lung patients to Boerne as far back as the 1860s, and
Boerne’s reputation as a healthful climate spread nation-wide, attracting people from all
over North America to come to the mountains hoping to breathe in a cure. There was a
time in Boerne’s history when not only was every hospital and sanitarium full of patients,
buut just about every private home boarded at least one person recovering- or dy-

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

St. Helena’s Church

ing- from tuberculosis as well. And World War I had created a whole new wave of lung
patients- those suffering from the aftermath of nerve and mustard gas attacks. On the
same site as St Mary’s Sanitarium is another lovely frame building of elegant proportions, this also run by the Sisters- this is Holy Angel’s Academy, a Catholic school. These
two buildings would burn down around 1930 and the land stand empty for years and
years, for most of my life until the land was developed into the site of the new Patrick
Heath Library and city campus.
You can also see from Main Street, on our stroll through 1923 Boerne, the former
sanitarium of Dr WE Wright’s up on the hill where Care Choice Nursing Home will be
in 2014. William Kuhlmann, the man mentioned above in connection to Kuhlmann’s
Apothecary, first built the mansion in 1895 as a gift to his bride, his childhood sweetheart whom he returned to Germany to marry and bring back to Boerne, but she died
in childbirth soon after their return and Kuhlmann never did live in the mansion he’d
built for his bride. Instead Dr Wright turned the house into a sanitarium, later adding
several little cottages on the property for the men who would remain and make Boerne
their home. By 1923 a man named Gallagher had taken over the property and was running it as the HIlltop Hotel, with tourists staying in the cottages. HL Davis, of whom we
also spoke earlier, later bought the mansion and lived in it with his wife, Minnie Perrin
Davis, until Mr Davis’ death. On an old insurance map there’s a swimming pool marked
near the Hilltop mansion, and the author- me- has spent many a long walk searching
for evidence of that swimming
pool, imagining the people
gathered around it in the hotel’s
heyday. The mansion fell into
ruin after Davis’ death although
it stood well into the 90s, and
my sister and I used to prowl
around in there when our greatgrandmother lived in the Hilltop
nursing home, which used the
bottom floor rooms for storage,
and if you think the old ruins of
an abandoned house filled with
old-timey wheelchairs and iron
beds isn’t spooky, then you don’t
know from spooky. Nowadays
when I find the time to wander
in the little woods between the
nursing home and the creekbed
down below, I look back towards
where the mansion’s patio once
was and get a powerful sense
of time travel gazing at the few
pieces of statuary still standing
from the Davis’ day and before.
St. Mary’s Sanitarium
I’m sure I could stand there for
hours and people that now quiet
space with all those ghosts from
the past, the rasping patients of the sanitarium, the soldiers poisoned overseas, the
fashionable guests of the hotel in their 20s fashions, ‘Yes We Have No Bananas’ playing
on the phonograph.
The businesses taper off at this point on Main Street, not much but houses and farms
from this point northwards, many of which are still there but long since turned into
chiropractor’s offices and insurance agencies and, God help us, apartments and office
space and more strip centers. But on this March Tuesday in 1923, with the mountain
laurel wind blowing, nobody had ever dreamed of a place where strip centers existed.
You did your shopping in a place with hollow wooden floors and stamped-tin ceilings
with a couple of ceiling fans stirring around the smell of soap powder and new denim

April 2014

and leather boots, with people you go to church with standing behind long, glass
counters and who ask you about your family, and know exactly who that term includes,
all the way to second cousins six times removed. The twenties weren’t an easy time for
people in Boerne- they may have been roaring somewhere else, but it was a rough decade in these parts, and about to get worse. The boll weevil was wiping out the cotton
industry in Kendall County, the biggest business there was, and by 1925 King Cotton in
Boerne would be dead. People had banked on the Resort Era, were set up to accommodate what had seemed to be an endless influx of visitors, but business began to
taper off sharply after the war, and the coming Depression would end that era forever.
The population would begin to decline as well, and Boerne, in common with little towns
all over the South, would face an economic crisis that wouldn’t fully abate until well into
the 1970s. But in 1923 all of that bad news was in a future they couldn’t know about
and that couldn’t affect their pleasure in spending an early Spring day with their friends
at the park. We’re back at Military Plaza and it looks like the they’re wrapping things
up and it’s time to go back to the future, back to 2014 where Boerne is vastly different
and where a crowd of nearly nine hundred people is nothing out of the ordinary, it’s
what you see every day at HEB, that fluorescent-lit, sterile super-store so very different from HO Adler’s or Eddie Vogts or Joe Dienger’s. It’s time to climb back out of this
time machine, time to step out of the picture of our town on a random Spring day, but
it’s hard to let go, it’s so hard to stop looking back. This street to the south of Military
Plaza- it will soon change it’s
name to Kronkosky but on this
day it’s still called Bobolink, and
on that corner someday will
appear a place called Beef &
Brew, it will be there for a time
and then disappear. St Peter’s
across Main Street- the doublespired brand-new sanctuary
looks so lovely, so big atop the
hill but you know the time will
come when it has served it’s
purpose and the battle to tear
it down will go all the way to
the Supreme Court. When the
newly hard-topped Main Street
will be clogged with traffic and
the sight of a horse will be as
foreign here as the thought of
a world without television, a
world where so many people
don their best clothes and head
into town for the dedication of
a war memorial. But on this day
in 1923, as on every other day
in the history of the world, these
people who pause for their
picture cannot imagine their
world any other way, have every reason to believe that life will be like this forever, that
this town, this Boerne, will always be their pretty little village tucked into the embrace
of the hills, far away from San Antonio and from the rest of the world. Amant eam, cum
quo est.
I’d like to dedicate this month’s article to my very dear friend without whom I never
could have written even my first article, much less all the rest- Ann Welder of The
Heath Library. Thank you for everything Ann!

www.hillcountryexplore.com

thefam2001@yahoo.com

27

Crow-Karsch Ra

Cascade Caverns

nch

Edge Falls

Crow-Karsch Ranch

offer a ton of beautiful rock formations,
multiple “rooms”, and guided educational
Hill Country scenic views is something
tours. They’re open year round except for
Boerne is known for. Did you know you
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
could be so close to Boerne and still see
They’re right up the road and would love
all the way to the Tower of the Americas?
Crow-Karsch Ranch is the little known place to see the family.
where you can do this. Go out there on a
clear day and soak up the views at sunset.
Mr. D’s
Yes, it might seem a little strange to
showcase a convenience store here. But
Edge Falls
let us explain. Mr. D’s ROCKS. Plain and
The Hill Country’s most fabled waterfalls.
simple. Their gas prices will not syphon
When Edge Falls is flowing is truly a sight
to behold. You can stand on the Edge Falls the money out of your wallet like the few
places on I-10 will. When you walk in the
bridge and be right on top of the falls.
person behind the counter greets you
with a smile and friendly “hello”. And the
Cascade Caverns
real kicker is their prices inside. Typically,
Boerne’s very own “thing only out of townconvenience stores charge you a hefty
ers and new residents” go to. We admit
premium for the items on their shelves.
that, like the San Antonio Riverwalk, CasNot so here. While they may be a little
cade Caverns is not a place frequented
higher than some place like HEB, they’re
by locals. Which is a shame. The caverns

more than reasonable. Any place you
can pick up drinks and munchies for the
whole family for less than $6 is a diamond in the rough. Check ‘em out. And
tell them the EXPLORE guys said “hi”.

Old Timer’s Front Porch

Disclaimer: proceed at your own risk. This
is Old Timer’s front porch. He made us
promise not to disclose the actual location.
We know that may disappoint a lot of you,
but when an elderly ex-Marine tells you to
NOT do something... you don’t do it. We
can say it’s somewhere in Boerne proper
and that is all. If you find it, remember,
ex-Marine. If you drive by and he’s outside,
give him a honk and a wave. You might
get a salute from him. But make sure the
kids aren’t in the car. Old Timer salutes not
endorsed by any branch of the US Military
for use on civilians.

Know of a M

UST DO in
Boerne? If
so send it to
u
s
a
excursions@
t
hillcountrye
xplore.com

Mr. D’s

28

t Porch

ron
Old Timer’s F

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

Hill Country Real Estate & Property Management
MLS # 1037642, $188,000
Immaculately kept 4 bedroom home
located conveniently to Boerne schools
and 1-10. Home is still under 10-year
builder warranty. Features include an
open floor plan, walk in closets in every
bedroom, owned security system, covered
patio, and mature landscaping.

104 Stone Canyon $704,000
Custom home in Cordillera Ranch on
a secluded cul-de-sac. Features include a
pool, 5.23 Acres, and easy access to the golf
course and clubs.

March has come and gone and with it, Spring Break. We here at EXPLORE had a ton of fun over Spring Break this year.
Maybe a little too much. But that’s for the courts and our lawyer to figure out. But it got us thinking... we can’t be the only
one’s who had a blast during that one carefree week. So we threw it out to our friends. “What was your best Spring Break
memory, if you can still remember it?” Here are a few of the responses.
“Let’s enjoy the first few days of spring sitting in a windowless bar watching March Madness.”

“White t-shirts and water go together like… like… I’m
sorry, what were you saying?”

“I’m 38 years old, so a crazy Spring Break is not in the cards for me anymore. However, in honor of thousands of co-eds running to the beach right now in their bikinis,
I shall crush this beer on my forehead at 10:30am in honor of them all.”
“My God – Spring Break 1993. There are so many stories I could share with
you if only I could remember a single one of them.”

“If they had Facebook when I was in college, my Spring Break photos would eliminate me
from every job I’ve ever had. I was VERY lucky to grow up without social media. Me puking over a balcony was funny the moment it happened, but I can’t believe kids nowadays
can post that picture so that every future employer can find it. No thanks.”

“College is funny. We really need a break from the constant drinking and reckless
sex on campus, so we run down to Padre and drink even harder. And yes, have
lots of sex. Man, those were fun days.”

“If my parents only knew about half the stuff that went on during my Spring
Breaks they’d probably have shipped me off to some Franciscan monastery
in Siberia to atone for my actions.”

I have always been a traveler.
This statement holds more meaning than simply being someone who goes from one
place to another; it is more a state of being, that I carry within me. When I journey to
a new place I always live it fully. The new land becomes another home…a place where
dear friends live and memories of good food, drink, and laughter last beyond the journey itself. Most people who travel are tourists, they go there but carry sameness with
them, and never taste the flavor or suspect the lessons that are waiting to be learned. A
traveler lives the journey. A tourist goes holding expectations along with the luggage. A
traveler goes wondering what will be around the next corner.
Each journey leaves me forever changed. Each journey teaches me…about life and
love, hardships overcome and history shared, and about my own greater journey. I
hope in some way I touch my new faraway home: I hope I do no harm. I hope I leave
only memories of kindness, respect, and smiles shared. Each journey increases my immortal spirit. As I travel from land to land I always notice that we are all dreaming upon
the same distant star. The earth holds us all within the curved, palm of its hand.
Recently I journeyed to Peru. I met up with my daughter Megan. I knew that this
journey held some real risks for me: asthma in the thin air, a propensity for elevation
sickness, and the possible loss of my job. I went anyway because the risk of regret was
far greater. I completed the trek alongside my seven young companions even through
great hardship and suffering; I would have it no other way. The Salkantay is known for
being the toughest of the Inca trails and this is not false advertising. I was joking prior
to leaving about the possibility me dying along the trail and my family collecting the
insurance…but I always joke when I know I might be facing that passing. I have faced it
many times as a Marine, Peace Officer, and Adventurer/Explorer. It is the way of things
in my life. In this case, the premonition almost came true.
I had spent two wonderful days in Arequipa and three days exploring Cuzco. We
enjoyed every bit of it including our decision that instead of sleeping in a room at the
Vanderbilt University flat, that we camp on the roof-garden under the stars. Those first
two nights were wonderful, briskly cold and clear as we lay beneath the Milky Way and
Southern Cross. Dogs barked from rooftop gardens and roosters crowed all night, but
still it was magical as I watched a shower of shooting stars above my head. Arequipa
was a wonderful beginning. Cuzco was fascinating and fun and in each place we found
great places to eat and drink. We had a wonderful Hostel with the first room opening up to the inner garden and the second room that waited for us upon return from
Salkantay looked out across the night skyline of the Plaza de Armas. At last it came time
for us to begin our five day trek over Salkantay Pass and on to Machu Picchu.
On the first day we took a four hour drive above the clouds, along the cliff-edged
roadway littered in cattle, pigs, horses, and chickens… where there is no guardrail and
the best way to enjoy the ride is to kiss your life good-bye and just let go. I did this, just
as I do each time I fly…and enjoyed the scenery as I knew I could be gaining a quick
view of the bottom of the canyon at any moment. All went well and we arrived at the
trail head. We loaded our horses and began to climb…and climb…and climb for about
six hours. It was warm, humid and dusty and my asthma didn’t seem to like any of these
factors any more than it liked the elevation. Even though I pushed forward through the
pain in my lungs by the time I reached basecamp between Humantay and Salkantay
mountains my lungs were in bad shape and I had a serious dose of altitude sickness.
The truth is I knew I was in deep trouble and once again found myself considering mortality and the good fortune that I had purchased insurance that included repatriation of
remains. That night I rested and allowed my body to adjust to the thin air. Darkness fell
and the stars came out; it was beautiful.

34

The trail up to the pass was stunningly beautiful. We crossed verdant green pampas
and up steep rocky ridges, always with Salkantay above us. When we got to the top
we had some time alone among the stones and the silence. I constructed a stone Apu
to show my respect. It’s strange, but I have constructed stone pyramids in forests and
deserts around the world, never knowing why I have felt compelled to do so or that
the ancient Incas did the same. Now, my Apu resides at the top of the pass alongside a
hundred others…very cool.
After reaching the top of the pass we began descending down the other side. My
elevation sickness had passed and I was feeling strong as we hiked for four more
hours, down into the cloud forests and then the rain-forests. As you might be able to
tell, I love nature and feel at home outdoors. I’m connected to the land in a somewhat
spiritual way. I love birds and of all the birds of the world, hummingbirds hold a special
magical place for me. As we descended through the cloud and rainforests we saw three
species of hummingbirds: the dark green giant hummingbird like those we had seen
in Cuzco, a small chestnut colored variety, and a stunning sapphire blue hummingbird.
The forests were stunning and as someone who has his own greenhouse and used
to raise orchids and bromeliads I really appreciated the profusion of these wonderful
plants hanging from every branch and rock formation. It rained on us for the last hour of
this trek but this seems appropriate in a rain forest and is no problem since all Marines
are amphibious.
On the last camping night we all sat around a campfire drinking Peruvian Cusquena
beer and enjoying conversation about life and adventure. Then, the next morning we
began walking the last six hours to Aquas Calientes and Machu Picchu. It was a dry hot
morning and once again the dust in the wind, exertion, and elevation conspired to rob
me of my strength, if not my resolve. One hour into the trek I felt my lungs tighten and
shortly thereafter I went into a full asthma attack whereas my breathing almost stopped.
So that I could reach the ground with some dignity I sat quickly on a rock and shot my
rescue inhaler into my lungs. This started my breathing again and in short order I stood
back up on my own two feet. The guide had been next to me during the attack and he
was clearly concerned. He asked me once again to let him flag down a combie/car but
I refused and we carried on forward for the next two hours. Once we got to Hydroelectrica I realized that I could not eat lunch and just drank a few bottles of power aid. I
was feeling pretty poorly, my lungs were hurting as if my ribs had been broken and the
guide asked me if he could put me on a train. I wanted to push through the pain and
I did. We hiked for three more hours through amazing rainforests with parrots flying
overhead and the rushing river beside us. In the end quite like when I ran the marathon
four years ago…determination prevailed and I crossed the finish line at Aquas Calientes
alongside my companions: I was very pleased with this outcome. I guess in some ways
it would have been nice if this was easier for me, yet truly, I’m glad it was difficult. Suffering always passes, memories of overcoming hardship remain.
To be a traveler you must truly experience the food, drink, people, and landscape
of the place you are exploring. I have been fortunate enough to sit around campfires
in Kenya and Namibia. I have tracked kudu with Bushmen and sat in the snow covered
mountain-town squares talking with Italian World War II Veterans in Abuzzo. It doesn’t
really matter if I’m hunting pronghorn with Colorado cowboys or kayaking a Texas Hill
country river…it’s all about the journey. A traveler is changed, evolved, somehow more
complete with each sojourn. And, the joys and the hardships are all a part of the experience. The traveler wouldn’t have it any other way.

Complete, easy and worry-free. The way it should be.
Home Automation Solutions

April 2014

www.hillcountryexplore.com

35

Wine

By Tom Geoghegan | TGeoghegan@boernewineco.com
As we move from the refreshing chill of our brief few weeks of winter to
the almost perfect weather of our spring season, we have the luxury in the
Hill country of being able to enjoy our favorite reds almost year round. With
that in mind, I thought it might be fun to share some wines from assorted
AVA’s (American Viticultural Areas) in the U.S. One of the favorite AVA’s I’ve
discovered is the Alexander Valley in Sonoma, California. Situated north of
Healdsburg and running up to Cloverdale, just off CA Hwy#101, it meanders
in a loose curve to finish back near the Knights Valley AVA, just north of Napa.
Simi, and others started the modern trend, but a little winery named Robert
Young put the valley on the map when Chateau St. Jean used their Chardonnay
grapes to produce California’s first vineyard designated wine in 1975. The valley
itself was awarded its own AVA status in 1984.
The original wine history of the valley goes back to some of the earliest
Spanish land grants, when in the 1840s Cyrus Alexander was granted two
leagues of land (almost 9000 acres), and planted grapes he had brought
from Ft. Ross on the Pacific coast. That winery later evolved into Alexander
Valley Vineyards, founded in 1962 by the Wetzel family. Now in its 37th year
of production, they farm a wide range of varietals, but specialize in Cabernet,
Chardonnay, Merlot, a unique trio of Zins (Temptation, Sin, and Redemption),
and their premium red blend, Cyrus.
In 1972, Tom Jordan and his family saw the potential for the appellation and
established the Jordon winery with an initial purchase of 275 acres (now 1300).
They persuaded the legendary Andre Tchelistcheff to consult on their project
and hired Rob Davis as their winemaker. Their estate-bottled Cabs were one
of the original cult wines out of California, and they also produce an elegant
Chardonnay. Their wines were some of the first California wines served at the
White House.

36

Simi is another nearly pioneer when Giuseppe and his brother Pietro arrived
in the mid 1850s seeking their fortune in the California gold rush. They found
their gold in grapes however, and produced their first vintage in 1876. In 1904,
Giuseppe’s daughter took over management of the winery, and in a very shrewd
maneuver, cellared all the wineries liquid assets in anticipation of Prohibition. In
1933 when the Volstead Act was repealed, she had over 500,000 cases of aged
wine ready for sale. In 1979, the winery hired Zelma Long, the pioneer women
winemaker. Today Steve Reeder is the winemaker, and his Landslide Vineyard
Red beautifully demonstrates the complexity that the Alexander Valley offers.
Only 175 acres in size, they have identified 3 distinct micro climates that offer
unique flavor to the blend. Within those three vineyard blocks, they have further
isolated over 44 sub-blocks that create a wine of incredible complexity.
Silver Oak has become synonymous with the Cabernet grape for decades
now, but I believe the Alexander Valley designate is the sleeper wine in their
portfolio for value and taste. In the late 1960s, Ray Duncan also saw the
potential for the valley, and began to purchase land in both Napa and the
Alexander Valley. Through mutual friends he met Justin Meyers, who was
the wine maker at the Christian Brothers winery. Their unique vision was to
concentrate on just one varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon, use American Oak to age
these grapes and produce a world class red. In 1972, they celebrated their first
harvest (pre-dating their Napa designation by seven years).Each appellation
produces unique wines in style, complexity and flavor profiles. Their specialized
aging program ensures an average 24 months in American Oak, and an
additional 15-20 months of bottle aging. Their new vintage release dates at the
respective winery locations are now legendary for creating traffic jams on the
normally sedate farm to market roads of Geyserville and Oakville.
Other wineries have certainly made their mark on the valley and contributed

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

to the rich portfolios of wines available. Rodney Strong was another of the early
pioneers, and now is experiencing a renaissance under the Klein family. Souverain,
formerly Chateau Souverain, is producing stellar wines from their new home in
Cloverdale under the guiding hand of winemaker Ed Killian, who has worked with
grapes from the Alexander Valley for over 25 years. Others to seek out at your
favorite wine shop, tasting bar, or restaurant are Field Stone, Hanna, Seghesio,
and Trentadue.
After covering a lot of ground, and discussing quite a few wineries, it’s
really hard to narrow it down to a favorite. So, when in doubt, go with
the human factor. A few years ago, we had the pleasure of meeting Ed
Killian at a local vintner dinner and taste thru his wines. His Cabernet
really stood out as a wonderful example of the AV style of lush forward
fruit, very balanced tannins, and a rich finish. Kathy and I then followed
up with a more recent example, the 2006 Alexander Valley Reserve.
This one over delivered for the money. Easily accessible at the start,
the wine continued to open beautifully, with rich plum, cherry, and
blackberry fruit. No hard edges, just soft tannins with subtle layers of
vanilla, chocolate, and all spice. Suggested retails from $ 20-24.99, and
wine list pricing from $40-44.99. Sometimes a little hard to find, but
worth the effort especially the reserve Cab bottling.
I guess the biggest reason I enjoy these wines is that they offer
such great value in relation to their Napa siblings. So if we’re out to
eat at a special restaurant and our friends offer to pick up the tab
for the wine, I will often order a Napa bottling. And when the same
friends come to our house for an elegant dinner, I love to surprise
them with something special from Sonoma. Or as I saw on a beautiful
old rusted farm truck’s bumper… “NAPA for auto parts, SONOMA
for wine.”

April 2014

www.hillcountryexplore.com

37

GARDENING

By Keith Amelung • Have Spade, Will Travel
www.havespade.com

As I sit down to write, many in the area had the first decent rain I can remember in a quite a while last night...although
sadly my yard remains dry. The bluebonnets are peaking down on 1604 and will be bursting through the Hill Country
soon enough heralding spring.

Redbud and peach trees are also in peak now, following March’s fragrance from the Mountain Laurels and Mexican
Plum trees.

Many of our perennial flowers are waking up, but don’t be too anxious to replace those still dormant. Many of our
summer standouts like Lantana will be sleeping a while longer; waiting for the soil to warm a bit more before they awake
for spring.
The Cibolo Nature Center’s ‘Mostly Native Plant Sale’ happens the first Saturday of the month at the Kendall County
Fairgrounds; and is always a great way to start April. Spring is a great time to fine tune our landscapes. Most of the
heavy lifting should be done off-season. Rock work such as patios and walkways are best affected in summer and
followed by major plantings in the fall and early winter. Spring should be for adding the occasional punch of color in
the perennial bed, changing out the winter Pansy’s and Kale, focusing on our veggies and generally just enjoying our
garden. Yes, it is a fine time to add a new flower or vegetable bed or smaller project but the big, big stuff is really best
done after mid September.
While visiting a local nursery recently I was asked my thoughts on the prolonged drought we are in; “There is always
enough water for tomatoes” was my reply. But in chatting with folks who remember way back to the mid 50’s they tell
stories of the Live Oaks not setting new leaves and the panic that ensued from folks thinking all the trees were going
to die. Obviously they did not. Granted we are loosing trees, with the old growth Red Oaks seeming to be the most
susceptible to these prolonged dry periods; especially when coupled with very rocky soil. I was digging holes recently
in long undisturbed heavy clay, and it was wet...I mean WET all the way from the surface to the bottom of the hole…
before this last rain! I was amazed how much moisture was still being held in this heavy clay. Unfortunately, most of us
are not blessed with these conditions, but I offer this example as proof they do exist. I am often asked how we can care
for our large specimen trees. The first thing we need to understand is that the vast majority of tree roots are located far
from the trunk, out at what we call the ‘drip line’ and beyond. Many times these root zones overlap – actually grafting
one tree to another. For us to offer any benefit to a tree, lets say six inches plus in caliper, we would need to set an
emitter/drip system, soaker hoses, or the like out at the drip line all the way around the canopy’s edge and let them run
on low pressure for many hours. The next day expand the watering system three to six feet further out from the trunk
and repeat. If we could do this monthly through the summer for every tree we might be concerned about; it would
indeed help them a bit. Another, and even more important step in keeping our trees healthy, is fertilization – and our
choice of. I staunchly avoid any type of “weed and feed” fertilizer, I don’t care what brand. Don’t use them. Don’t let
your neighbors use these either, as all too often the roots of your tree are in their yard!
These products can greatly stress the health of our trees (shrubs, flowers etc... that may “accidentally” have their
roots mingling out into the lawn) I have actually read the fine print on some that say “Do Not Use within 50 feet of
a trees roots”. These synthetic herbicides can’t determine the difference between the most noxious weed and an
oak tree. Please, please, please use natural fertilizers. And this is still a fine time to do so. I had the pleasure to visit a
couple yesterday who asked about mulching their large oaks. This takes us back to where the benefits of such would
be prudent. In their case the vast majority of the lawn was turf, so where mulch would be impractical, a thin ¼” layer
of compost would be ideal. A thin application of compost over our lawns will greatly improve the friability of our soil
reducing the necessity of water by as much as fifty percent. Not just for our lawns, but the trees growing therein. For a
little more on this subject please visit my website’s ‘Turf Care’ page.
A few final thoughts for the month: let’s all think veggie gardening. Even just a small 4’ x 4’ square or a whiskey barrel
can feed our senses and our soul. It is never too early to introduce your children to all of the wonderful aspects of an
edible garden. If not veggies like Tomatoes, Peppers, Squash, or Cucumbers how can anyone resist an herb garden with
fresh Basil, Thyme, Oregano or Chives. The fragrance and taste of freshness just can’t be compared… or bought; unless
you attend the Farmers Market at Herff Farm on Saturday Mornings from 8:30 - 12:30.

38

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

Mary Mellard, DDS

Randy Mellard, DDS, MS

• American Dental Association

• American Dental Association

• Texas Dental Association

• Texas Dental Association

• San Antonio Dental Society

• San Antonio Dental Society

• Academy of General Dentistry

• Academy of General Dentistry

DENTISTRY
for the
WHOLE FAMILY

The minute you walk through the doors at Mellard Dentistry, you will know you’ve come to the
right place. Dr. Mary Mellard and Dr. Randy Mellard, a well-regarded husband-and-wife dental
team, will help make you and your family more
comfortable than you ever thought possible. Both
doctors received their degrees from the University
of Texas at Houston, and each year they continue
to study advanced, postgraduate dentistry with
some of the best-known clinicians in the country,
In addition, Dr. Randy Mellard is a specialist in
periodontology (gum therapy), and has advanced
training in implant dentistry.
But despite their clinical accolades, Dr. Mellard
and Dr. Mellard do something all too rare in today’s rushed world... they listen, and get to know
each patient one-on-one. So whether you’re looking for advanced cosmetic and restorative dentistry or simply a dentist to help maintain your family’s
dental health, join us. We’ll give you something to
smile about!
Dr. Mary Mellard and Dr. Randy Mellard have
been married more than twenty years, and have
four children. They are native Texans, and enjoy
being active in our local community.

Twice nominated as Texas Dentist of the Year
(2007 & 2009)
- Dr. Mary Mellard
Master of Science in Periodontics,
University of Texas
-Dr. Randy Mellard

Services Offered:

Sedation Dentistry for fearful patients or long procedures
All-on-Four Smile in a Day
Same day crowns (Cerec)
Implants
Six Month Smiles
Cosmetic makeovers
Invisalign
Non-surgical treatment for gum disease

CARE
for the whole
Children deserve a wonderful
dental experience. We encourage
parents to bring their children in
for a visit any time after their first
birthday. Your child will love it here!

Now Welcoming New Patients

(210) 782-8421

www.mellarddentistry.com

Creating the healthy beautiful smile of your dreams in a
comfortable caring atmosphere

SPIRITUAL
SPIRITUAL

By Kendall D. Aaron :: kendall@hillcountryexplore.com
My friend Johnny talks to God all the time. He doesn’t do this in the ways that you might think he is
“talking” with God such as prayer or devotionals, but he really, REALLY talks to God. Someone will ask him
to make a big decision, or they could be asking him to go to lunch, and he will set the phone aside, pray for
direction, and then say, “Ok. I got it. God says it’s cool if we have lunch on Thursday.” I’m not making light
of his discussions with God, as they are pretty much the same as when he’s asked a potentially life-changing
decision; he’ll pray briefly, nod his head, and have a response at the ready. Sometimes he’ll say “Nope – no
answer from God right now. That means we need to wait.”
I love Johnny, because he is so tuned into God that even his lunch plans are acts of supernatural influence that
require Christ’s input.
I’ve been thinking about Johnny a lot because I want a supernatural influence in my life. I want a true,
profound visit from God that will alter the direction of my life in a good way. It seems like every testimony I’ve
ever heard, every feel-good video on Youtube I’ve ever watched goes something like this: “Boy, I was really
a mess. I was addicted to McDonald’s, my wife left me for a circus performer, and my children were armed
robbers. One night I prayed to God, and He appeared to me in my heart and ever since that moment, my life
is different. I now own 700 fitness centers, my wife is devoted to me, and my children are all valedictorians.” It’s
all simple; God shows up and reshapes a person’s entire life into something perfect and beautiful. Put some good
music to that testimony, build in some creative camera angles, and break out the Kleenex. God strikes again.
And then there’s me.
I pray. Constantly. I have hang-ups and issues and addictions that I have battled my entire life, and I’m a mess of
contradictions and frustrations and motivations that have plagued me since day 1. But I’m praying, and while I make
progress, I invariably return to this state of brokenness. And I start again. And again. And again.
I’m left questioning to God, “What am I doing wrong that you won’t swoop down, do a supernatural dance around
me, and leave me fixed? Repaired? All better? Where is that God from those cutesy videos I see where people just
hit their knees one day, ask for God’s help, and are left skipping off into the distance after God’s miraculous
deliverance?”
What’s the answer? I really want to know, and if you’re thinking I’m here to deliver
the answer you’re wrong. The only conclusion I’ve come to is this one: either I’m
not listening for the answer, or I’m not turning to follow Him completely. I
think it could be 50/50 on which one is right. Either I’m asking for help
with something and being SHOWN the direction but am stubbornly
refusing, or God is hearing my prayer and is peering deep into my
heart to see that I’m not sincere. It’s quite a self-admission to say
that perhaps He’s right on both accounts, but it’s hard to admit
to myself. My heart wants help and comfort and freedom. I
want resolution and direction and support. Translated, I want
it to be easy! My head, on the other hand, can see that
change is hard, and well, it doesn’t like doing hard things.
And around and around we go.
Have you ever felt like this? Ever begged for something
to happen in your life, and then watched as it didn’t
happen? Have you ever yearned to wake up a new
person and be frustrated when it didn’t happen?
Yeah, me too.
So what do we do? Where do we go to find the relief
from the things we seek help? What is the resolution?
C’mon man, what’s the SOLUTION?! As best I can
tell, the only real solutions are to truly, passionately,
deeply, spiritually want change. Sound easy? Yeah,
it’s not. Second, we must be willing to actually make
the change we’re looking for. Are you praying to find
forgiveness for someone that has hurt you? Ok, but
then you better be ready to truly do that. You must
really be honest about forgiving someone, even when
they don’t deserve it. Are you wanting to find peace
amongst great sorrow? Are you willing to release your
pain and allow God to heal your heart?
Change is hard. Sometimes we get so wrapped up
in the comfort and familiarity of our pain and our issues
that it’s disconcerting to release them. What would I
do if I wasn’t mad at so-and-so? I’ve been mad at him
for 25 years! I can’t just wake up tomorrow, forgive
him, and move on like nothing ever happened!
I sympathize with this line of thought, and I will pray for
you while you will pray for me. In the meantime, we’ll both
be wringing our hands and begging for help and release;
the very help and release that God is constantly offering us if
only we’d be willing to simply………………..let go.

40

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

Facility available for special events
Call for details
Guitar Workshops • Artist Performances
String instrument rentals for students

For over 40 years, KCN has been building beautiful
custom homes of all sizes in Boerne, Comfort,
Bandera, Castroville and throughout the Texas
Hill Country.
Our commitment to excellence is reflected not
just in the quality of our products, but also in the
superior level of customer service we provide during
the building process.
Our reputation for honesty and integrity, combined
with our commitment to deliver excellent quality,
expert craftsmanship, and customer service, has
afforded us the opportunity to build many long
lasting relationships with our clients. In fact, we are
now building a home for our 29th repeat customer.

...where their heart is
SENIOR BUDDIES was founded to provide
a loving, caring way to assist the elderly and their families.
We specialize in enhancing the lives of seniors limited by
Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and strokes. We also provide
respite care, surgery recovery and service for other seniorrelated needs.

WE meet with clients and their families in their own

home-setting to effectively facilitate a match between our
caregiver and the client.

OUR personal assistance services may be just what is

needed to safely maintain our client’s independence in their
own home.

Old Timer is our resident cranky old guy. We all know one or love one, and we’ve
become quite fond of Old Timer, and enjoy letting him spout off about stuff that he
sees happening around town.

More Things about Boerne that Just
Irritate the Hell Outta Me:
Boerne School District
Obviously, my kids are grown and gone, but even
back in the day, the BISD was a good one. And
it still is. However, I can’t believe that parents
tolerate the amount of time that the teachers take
off. We’ve got the 3 months of summer, Christmas
Break, and Spring Break, but I swear, they close
for every holiday, “Teacher Workday”, “Teacher
Inservice Day”, and Bad Weather Day they can
find. Stop doing that. It’s hugely disruptive to the
parents. And besides, we all know that you’re at
Buckles during your “Inservice Day”, anyway.

The whole Herff Road expansion
Well, you’ve knocked over a helluva lot of trees,
widened the road, and are straightening it out. You
ARE aware that the traffic backs up on River Road
a thousand times worse, and this will do absolutely
nothing to fix traffic problems in Boerne, right? And

46

isn’t it strange to hear people talking about “Traffic
Problems” in Boerne? Seriously? In Boerne?

The speed limit on Hwy 46 is 65mph,
not 46mph. Get with it, people.
8pm in Boerne
Why does this town absolutely roll up the sidewalks
at 8pm? There are no cars, no people wandering
from business to business along Main Street (cause
they’re all closed), no live music wafting out on
the street. Why does this still happen? I mean, the
demographic of Boerne is much younger now than
in years past, but still, we all live like a bunch of
geriatrics. I, personally, am cool with this.

I suppose it’s improved, but I’m not sure. It carries
the same amount of cars over the water, so there’s
no improvement there. It’s been painted, but it’s
some sort of green color, so nope, no improvement
there. I do see that the sidewalk is wider, so this
was the improvement we were sold? This is what
has taken almost a year longer than planned for
them to construct? A freakin’ sidewalk? Of all the
traffic issues that Boerne has, we devoted zillions
of dollars and wasted over a year so that we could
have a new, wider sidewalk to go over a 500’
bridge. Happy? Sheesh.

The Bridge Project
well, they are either done with the bridge or they’ve
simply given up. I’m pretty sure they just gave up.

EXPLORE it! LIVE IT! The REAL Kendall County.

As a Master in the Academy of General Dentistry, Dr. Chet Hawkins
posses the highest level of education recognized for a dentist. As a
graduate of the Pankey Institute, he’s had the finest post-doctoral
training in the world. “I want to establish a master plan and then
develop a blueprint for my patients’ long-term care,” he explains. “We
want to solve the causes of the problems before we do anything else to
their teeth. Then we can rebuild or repair with confidence that the fix
will last as long as possible. We also educate our patients about other
health issues related to oral disease. There is a connection between
periodontal disease and heart disease that people need to know about.”
Dr. Hawkins and his wife, Deby, have been residents of Boerne for 7
years and are excited to be joining the practice in Boerne.

I just went to see Dr. Hawkins yesterday for an exam and cleaning. I was promptly seen, the
procedures were done painlessly and in a timely manner with the latest equipment. My necessary dental work was explained fully to me. Everyone in the office greeted me warmly and made
me feel special.
- Elaine
We have been going to the Hawkins Dental Office for 25 years. This office is far superior
to the average dental office. Their exceptional practice is due to their sincere desire to provide
the very best service to their patients. They maintain the latest technology and genuinely care
about the welfare of the people who they serve. I cannot find the words to express the high
regard that my family and I hold for this dental practice.
- Gene T.
Pleasant, friendly staff. No wait. Dr. Hawkins listens to your issues and then provides clear
solutions. Great dentist. Also, great hygienist. Overall, great experience.
- Cindy